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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Using Web Cams to Help Develop Empathy

About 6 years ago I was in the old building that used to house my school. I discovered a web cam that was documenting the life of Molly the Owl and her 2 owlets. We would watch the live stream constantly (and this was before I had a smartboard so it was a bunch of kids sitting around a PC). We watched her feed her babies, watched the baby owls grow feathers, grow wings and eventually leave the nest. I'd leave it on all the time and we'd hear a noise in the background during a lesson and the kids would say "it's just Molly". The truly remarkable thing about that experience is the kids still remember her as well as I do. They are in middle school now and last year my student came back to show me this book they found in their library.

What an exciting discovery.We obviously weren't the only ones who enjoyed getting a peek into her life.

I really think experiences like this one can help kids learn empathy. I think it can help them develop inclinations to care about others. I still use webcams often. This is my favorite site for them-they have everything from penguins to service dogs. I will even pull up the feed of the kittens at lunch to de-stress-how relaxing is watching kittens! :)